Sunday, June 29, 2025

2:00 PM - 5:00 PM

---

Overview

Chair: Dr Stacey Mearns, Dr E-beth Barrera-Cancedda

---

Details

The Epidemic-ready Primary Healthcare (ERPHC) workshop, hosted by Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL), engages participants in a structured, three-part session to explore and apply the ERPHC approach to strengthening epidemic preparedness at the primary health care (PHC) level. The workshop begins with an introduction to the ERPHC concept, with a strong emphasis on integrating Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) across disciplines and levels of the health system. The second part offers a deep dive into key lessons learned from the ERPHC pilot, examining data trends and highlighting persistent challenges and gaps in IPC implementation. The final part introduces a tailored assessment tool for evaluating epidemic readiness at the PHC level, reinforcing systems thinking and equipping participants with practical approaches to strengthen emergency preparedness. Facilitated by Dr. Stacey Mearns, along with Samantha Kozikott and Amy Elizabeth (E-beth) Barrera-Cancedda, the workshop fosters dialogue, reflection, and actionable learning. Objective: • Socialize the concept of ERPHC with a strong emphasis on IPC • Share learnings from the ERPHC pilot to build interest and understanding Part 1: Socializing the Concept of ERPHC • Opening brainstorming activity: What does epidemic readiness look like at the HF level? - Tell the Story of ERPHC - Activity 1: IPC Integration: • Reflect on a time when you used a multimodal strategy to integrate IPC practices across disciplines and/or across levels of the health system. What worked and what didn’t? • For those without direct experience: Theoretically think about how you would use a multimodal strategy in your facility or context. • Which elements would you include and why? • How would you coordinate efforts across different disciplines or system levels? • What potential obstacles might you face, and how would you address them? Part 2: Socializing Learnings from ERPHC Pilot Top 10 Lessons Learned from the Pilot (15 min) - Focus on IPC-Specific Learnings: • The Know-Do Gap: Even if guidelines or best practices exist, there’s often a gap in the actual implementation and adherence at the PHC level. • IPC vs. Surveillance: Emphasize the difference between IPC and disease surveillance. Both are important, but understanding the role of each and how they complement each other is critical. Activity 2: ERPHC Lessons - Deep dive • Objective: A deep dive into key lessons learned from the ERPHC pilot to look at emerging data trends and highlight gaps and challenges at the PHC level, using SimEx learnings as examples. Case Scenarios to Review: • Emergency/HCW Protection: Explore scenarios where HCWs faced risks or inadequate protection during an emergency. • Know-Do Gap: Illustrate a situation where there was a lack of action despite the availability of knowledge and guidelines. Discussion Points: • Analyze the gaps and explore potential solutions. • Discuss the real-world challenges of implementation at the PHC level and the changes needed to improve epidemic readiness. Part 3: Takeaway – Tool for Assessing Epidemic Readiness Tool Presentation: • Introduce a modified version of the mentorship tool/capacity assessment tool that can help assess epidemic readiness at the PHC level. Key Takeaways: • Reinforce that epidemic readiness cannot be achieved by focusing solely on IPC—it requires an integrated approach. • Emphasize the need for broader systems, thinking in strengthening PHC and emergency preparedness. Outcome: Equip participants with a practical tool to assess their own facilities' readiness while understanding the importance of a comprehensive approach to epidemic preparedness. AGENDA 2:00 - 2:05 Introduction 2:05 - 2:15 Ice-breaker/ERPHC brainstorming 2:15 - 2:30 Part 1: Socializing the Concept of ERPHC- Tell the story of ERPHC 2:30 - 2:40 Q & A 2:40 - 2:55 Activity 1: Integration of IPC 2:55 - 3:15 Discussion: Activity 1 3:15 - 3:30 Part 2: Socializing Learnings from ERPHC Pilot 3:30 - 3:40 Q&A 3:40 - 3:55 Activity 2: ERPHC Key Lessons- Deep Dive 3:55 - 4:15 Discussion: Activity 2 4:15 - 4:30 Break 4:30 - 4:45 Part 3: Epidemic Readiness Tool 4:45 - 5:00 Closing/Q&A

---

Speaker

---

Pre-conference Workshop Chair